Start / Kultur (Archiv 2011) / 2011082100

Hundreds of theater artists and supporters protest Israeli military attacks on the Jenin Freedom Theatre [21.08.2011]

We the undersigned, members and supporters of the arts community, deplore the recent attacks in Jenin on The Freedom Theatre, its people and property. The Freedom Theatre is a beacon for artistic expression, offering youth in Jenin a safe space in which to express themselves, and to explore their creativity and emotions. The Theatre has the following admirable goals:

-To raise the quality of performing arts and cinema in the area.
-To offer a space in which children and youth can act, create and express themselves freely, imagining new realities and challenging existing political, social and cultural barriers.
-To empower the young generation to use the arts to promote positive change in their community.
-To break the cultural isolation that separates Jenin from the wider Palestinian and global communities.

To our dismay, the Israeli military attacked The Freedom Theatre in the Jenin Refugee Camp at 3:30 a.m. on July 27, 2011, hurling rocks at its building and damaging windows. During this raid, they arrested Adnan Naghnaghiye, the Theatre's facilities manager, and then went to the home of Bilal Saadi, the President of the Theatre's Board in Jenin, and arrested him after damaging his home. Charges against them have not been made public.

On August 6, 2011, while at a checkpoint crossing with members of the Theatre's acting troupe, soldiers of the Israeli military arrested, handcuffed and blindfolded Rami Awni Hwayel, a 20-year old third-year acting student.

Calls to the military authorities to get information about all three have yielded no information.

We call on the Israeli government either to make public any charges against the three Freedom Theatre personnel or release them immediately. In addition, we insist that the Israeli military pay damages for the destruction to the Theatre and to Mr. Saadi's home.

We call on all supporters of the arts everywhere, including our fellow artists and supporters of the arts in Israel, to support The Freedom Theatre as an inspiring source of cultural understanding and artistic hope and to demand that attacks against it cease.

Friends of the Jenin Freedom Theatre
P.O. Box 592
Tarrytown, NY 10592
friends@thefreedomtheatre.org
917- 991 -565

Endorsers

Affliliations for Identification Only

Frank A. Walter, arts supporter
Judith Ackerman, actress, teacher, New York
Miriam Adams, Retired science/reference librarian/ researcher/Painter /cello player /arts supporter, New Mexico
Jane Adas, retired professor of music, New Jersey
Naila Alatrash, theatre director, actress, Syria
Edward Albee, playwright, New York
Nejwa Ali, arts supporter, New York
Sherry Alpern, arts supporter, New York
Salam Al-Rawi, arts supporter, New York
Aline Alterman, librarian, philosopher, poet, France
Leslie Angeline, arts supporter, California
Carol Ann Clouston, Prof. of Voice & Speech, American University in Cairo, Egypt
Patricia Ann Abraham, arts supporter, South Carolina
Shane Ann Younts, voice and speech teacher, NYU, dialect coach Broadway, New York
Iman Aoun, artistic director, Ashtar Theatre, Palestine
Bettina Aptheker, writer, professor, New York
Sarika Arya, Yale University Fellow/ Director/ Arts Supporter, New York, UK
Ben Aylsworth, senior producer CBC TV, Ontario, Canada
Nikhil Aziz, Executive Director, Grassroots International, Massachusetts
Erin B. Mee, Assistant Professor, New York University
Judith B. Solomon, ceramist, New York
Malkah B. Feldman, Grassroots International, arts supporter, Massachusetts
Elizabeth Baker, art educator, Maryland
Alec Baldwin, actor, New York
Etienne Balibar, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Université Paris-Nanterre
George Bartenieff, actor/producer/director, New York
Jan Bauman, retired photographer and arts supporter, California
Roni Ben Efrat, writer, teacher, editor, Israel
Eldad Benary, sound engineer, supporter of the arts and of human rights, New York
Pam Benvenue, arts supporter, Georgia
George Beres, arts supporter, writer, Oregon
Joanne Beretta, singer, New York
Allen Bergson, arts supporter, New York
Deirdre Bergson, arts supporter, writer, New York
Robert Bethem, arts supporter, California
Phyllis Bloom, arts supporter, New York
Anne Bogart, Artistic Director SITI Company, Professor Columbia University, New York
Hanna Braun, arts supporter, UK
Fritzie Brown, Executive Director, CEC ArtsLink, New York
Leila Buck, actress, writer, teaching artist, New York
Elly Bulkin, arts supporter, New Jersey
James Bundy, Dean/Artistic Director,Yale School of Drama/Yale Repertory Theatre, Connecticut
Dorothy Burlage, PhD, child psychologist, Massachusetts
Clemency Burton-Hill, actor, writer, broadcaster, New York/UK
Mariam C. Said, editor, arts supporter, New York
Edith Cacciatore, arts supporter,
Henry Chalfant, filmmaker/photographer, New York
Kathleen Chalfant, actor, New York
Brad Chamberlain, arts supporter, Washington
Detroit Chapter, Jewish Voice for Peace, Michigan
J Christine Yau, marketing, arts supporter, California
Kathleen Cleaver, law professor, writer, Georgia
Richard Congress, author, music producer, adjunct professor, New York
Ann Cook, arts supporter, New York
Charlie Cooper, arts supporter, Maryland
Joan Cooper, arts supporter, Maryland
Catherine Coray, arts professor, NYU TSOA Dept of Drama, director & curator, New York
Clare Coss, Playwright, New York
Joan Countryman, arts supporter, Rhode Island
Andrew Courtney, citizen, artist, photographer, New York
Evelyn Crawford, arts supporter, Georgia
Robert Croonquist, arts supporter, New York
Elizabeth Cross, actor, arts supporter, Florida
Pamela Cullerton, arts supporter, Illinois
Michael Cumpsty, actor/teacher, New York
Heather Davis, student, art writer, Montreal, Canada
Mangalika de Silva, arts supporter, New York
Sarah Dillner, Executive Assistant, Schooner Capital, Massachusetts
Olympia Dukakis, actor, Jewish Voice for Peace, California
Mary Dwan, painter, poet and clinical psychologist, British Virgin Islands
James E. Vann, architect, arts supporter, California
J. Ed Araiza, actor, director, playwright, New York
Kathy Engel, poet, teacher, activist, New York
Helen Engelhardt, independent audio documentary producer, poet, writer, storyteller, New York
Amal Eqeiq, arts supporter, Washington
Barbara Erickson, arts supporter, Northern California Friends of Sabeel, California
John Erickson, arts supporter, Northern California Friends of Sabeel, California
Oskar Eustice, Artistic Director, the Public Theater, New York
Carol F. Yost, writer, visual artist, student of acting and other arts, New York
Steven Fake, background/extra worker in film industry, arts supporter, Louisiana
Nancy Farrell, teacher, arts supporter, Washington
Gordon Fellman, professor of sociology, Brandeis University, Massachusetts
Lisa Fender, TV producer, CBC, Toronto, Canada
Colleen Fitzpatrick, arts supporter, California
Nancy Fleischer, arts supporter, California
Libbie Frank, arts supporter and activist, Pennsylvania
Khalid Franklin, arts supporter, New York
Tom Freudenheim, arts supporter, New York
David Fulton, arts supporter, Spain
Betty G. Robinson, arts supporter, Maryland
Jose Galvan Galvan, director, actor, Mexico
Suzanne Gardinier, writer, New York
Noelle Ghoussaini, playwright, director, arts educator, New York
Stephanie Gilman, educator, New York
Terri Ginsberg, Ph.D., college professor - cinema studies Board member, International Council for Middle East Studies, New York
Stathis Gourgouris, Director of Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, Columbia University, New York
Maria Goyanes, Associate Producer the Public Theater, New York
Jason Grote, playwight & television writer, New York
Roberto Gutiérrez Varea, theater director, Associate Professor, Performing Arts and Social Justice, University of San Francisco, California
Thomas Haley, photo-journalist, Sipa Press, France
Catherine Hanna, director, teaching artist -theater arts specialist, New York
Carolyn Harris, arts supporter, California
Barbara Harvey, lawyer, arts supporter, Michigan
Zamir Havkin, arts supporter, Israel
Jenny Heinz, arts supporter, psychotherapist, New York
David Henry Hwang, playwright, New York
Elizabeth Hess, performer, playwright, professor, New York
Jane Hirschmann, arts supporter, New York
Kendra Hodgson, Media Education Foundation, Massachusetts
Carol Horwitz, arts supporter, New York
Jonathan House, MD, arts supporter, New York
Barbara Howard, New York Theatre Workshop, arts supporter, New York
Douglas Humble, residency manager, arts supporter, Texas
Waris Hussein, film,TV, theatre director
Dyala Husseini, arts supporter,
Ron Jenkins, professor of theater, Wesleyan University, Connecticut
Sut Jhally , Executive Director, Media Education Foundation, Professor of Communication, UMASS-Amherst, Massachusetts
Corey Johnson, actor, student, California
Christine Jones, artistic director Theatre for One, New York
Jeff Jones, arts supporter, New York
Hazel Kahan, artist, writer, radio host, New York
Jeremy Kamps, writer, educator, New York
Mahmood Karimi-Hakak, theatre director, Professor of Theatre and Film, Siena College, New York
Scott Kennedy, arts supporter, California
Joyce Kozloff, artist, New York
Tony Kushner, playwright, New York
Kelly L. Grotke, PhD, academic & friend of the arts, University of Helsinki, Faculty of Law, Finland
Leopold Lambert, architect, writer, New York
Willemijn Lamp, cultural entrepreneur, journalist, The Netherlands
Nora Lapin, arts supporter, New York
Jeremy Lawrence, actor, playwright, New York
Annick Le Floc’hmoan, arts supporter, France
Diane Lefer, author, playwright, California
Karen Leonard, arts supporter, California
Hector Leonardi, artist, New York
Michael Levin, musician, Illinois
Kathryn Levy, poet, arts educator, New York
Richard Levy, artist, civil rights lawyer, New York
Jennifer Little, actor, director, educator, New Jersey
Tony Litwinko, writer, editor, friend of the arts, California
Matthew Lombard, attorney, California
Susan Lourenco, arts supporter, Israel
Shaina Low, arts supporter, New York
Staughton Lynd, historian, lawyer, Ohio
Janet M. Fishman, actress, playwright, professor University of the Arts, Pennsylvania
Graham MacPhee, PhD, academic, arts supporter, Pennsylvania
Rafael Magnes, photographer, New York
Sunaina Maira, professor, writer, arts supporter, California
Karen Malpede, playwright/director, New York
Martha Mangan, arts supporter, New York
Miriam Margolyes, actor, London, UK
Jen Marlowe, filmmaker, playwright, author, Washington
Esti Marpet, arts supporter, New York
Adam Mathias Bittlingmayer, software engineer, arts supporter, California
Sharon Mazer, Associate Professor, Head, Theatre & Film Studies, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Daniel McCarey, arts supporter, Massachusetts
John McGillion, arts supporter,
Cornelia McGiver, arts supporter, New York
David McReynolds, arts supporter, New York
Jackie Miller, theatre artist, New York
Nhu Miller, arts supporter, California
Susan Miller, arts supporter, Israeli citizen, Pennsylvania
Tom Miller, arts supporter, California
Victoria Mills, documentary director, New York
Chiori Miyagawa, playwright, educator, Bard College, New York
Carole Monferdini, arts supporter, New York
Gloria Montero, novelist, playwright, Spain
Dorinda Moreno, poet, performer, U.S. Liaison and Rep, FuerzaMundial, TICPM, and Hitec Aztec Communications, California
Elspeth Murray, Company Manager, Puppet State Theatre Company, Scotland
Andrew N. Rubin, professor, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Jennifer Natalya Fink, writer, professor, Georgetown University, Washington DC
WESPAC, New York
Ify Nwokoye, yoga teacher, Connecticut
Rob Orchard, Performing Arts Department, Emerson College, Massachusetts
William Ota, retired high school math teacher, arts supporter, California
Karin Pally, arts supporter, California
Mandy Patinkin, actor, singer, New York
Donald Patterson, arts supporter, New York
Sarah Patterson, arts supporter, New York
Sybille Pearson, playwright, teacher, New York
Austin Pendleton, actor,director, playwright, teacher of acting, New York
Camila Perez Bustillo, Lead Attorney, International Tribunal of Conscience, Pueblos en Movimiento, Mexico
Josh Perlstein, actor, director, university professor, Massachusetts
Brian Pickett, theatre teacher, New York
N.M.B. Piette, arts supporter, The Netherlands
Karen Platt, arts supporter, California
Distinguished Professor of Humanities, University of California, Irvine, France
Orel Protopopescu, author, poet, New York
Margaret R. Zellner, Ph.D., L.P., psychoanalyst, behavioral neuroscientist, arts supporter, NY
Anita Rapone, arts supporter,
Michael Ratner, attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights, New York
Joyce Ravitz, retired educator, arts supporter, New York
Monica Raymond, writer, Massachusetts
Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights
Anne Remley, writer and arts supporter,
Susan Richards, artist, Pennsylvania
Judy Richardson, documentary filmmaker, Massachusetts
Ben Rivers, psychotherapist, applied theater specialist, California
Bruce Robbins, arts supporter, professor, Columbia University, New York
Katie Robbins, National Organizer, Healthcare-NOW!, arts supporter, Pennsylvania
Kathy Roberts, arts supporter, Massachusetts
John Roger Hammond, arts supporter,
Heidi Rosbe, amateur film maker, One Brave Thing, New York
Lillian Rosengarten, poet, writer, teacher, psychoanalyst, New York
Mercedes Ruehl, actor, New York
Mark Russell, director of the under the radar festival, The Public Theater, New York
Kathleen Russo, producer, New York
Vin Ryan, Chairman, Schooner Capital, Massachusetts
Linda S. Chapman, Assistant Artistic Director, New York Theatre Workshop, New York
Mohammad Sabaaneh, cartoonist, Palestine
Grace Said, arts supporter, Maryland
Susan Sarandon, actor, New York
Nitin Sawhney, Ph.D., assistant professor media studies, New School for Public Engagement, NY
Skip Schiel, photographer, writer, and filmmaker, Massachusetts
Lisa Schlesinger, playwright, Illinois & Iowa
Sarah Schulman, playwright, New York
Richard Sentner, Jr., arts supporter, Massachusetts
Lucy Sexton, Producer, New York
Betty Shamieh, writer, New York
Jeanie Shaterian, arts supporter, California
Sloan Shelton, arts supporter,
Ahmad Shirazi, filmmaker, film appraiser, New York
Ann Shirazi, freelance illustrator, film appraiser, New York
Rich Siegel, musician/songwriter, RS Musical Services, New Jersey
Joel Simpson, photographer, New Jersey
Theodora Skipitares, theater director, New York
Sheila Slater, arts supporter, New York
Doris Soroko, writer, New York
Gideon Spiro, journalist, peace and human rights activist, Israel
Haifa Staiti, arts supporter, Vancouver, Canada
Jean Stein, arts supporter, New York
Caitlin Stilin-Rooney, arts supporter, Pennsylvania
Jane Stillwater, writer, actor, California
Caridad Svitch, playwright, New York
Kate Taverna, filmmaker, New York
Silvia Tennenbaum, writer,
The Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory (TOPLAB), New York
Hania Toubasi, arts supporter,
Ruth Tracy, arts supporter, Ohio
William Tracy, editor, Washington
Maria Tucci, actor, New York
John Tydeman, O.B.E., Drama Director, Former Head BBC Radio, UK
Barby Ulmer, educator, California
Vic Ulmer, educator, California
Joan Vieira, teacher, Texas
Rebecca Vilkomerson, Executive Director, Jewish Voice for Peace, New York
Naomi Wallace, playwright, Kentucky
Sturgis Warner, theatre director, New York
Terry Weber, teacher, arts supporter, New York
Brenda Wehle, actor, New York
Dr. Wendy Galson, filmmaker and school psychologist, Pennsylvania
Meredith Whitford, writer, arts supporter, Australia
Louis Williams, arts supporter, Israel
Diana Wilson, musician/arts supporter/peaceseeker, California
Katherine Wilson, Middle East Studies Organization, Graduate Center/City University of New York
Susan Windle, poet, Pennsylvania
Mark Wing-Davey, Chair, Graduate Acting, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University
Ray Wofsy, arts supporter, New York
Stephan Wolf-Schönburg, actor, acting teacher at The Freedom Theatre, Germany
Marjorie Wright, filmmaker, producer, New York
Adam Z. Grumbach, teacher, arts supporter, New York
Michele Zackheim, writer, New York
Vivian Zelaya, arts supporter, California
Simone Zelitch, novelist, Pennsylvania
Bob Zellner, writer, New York

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